GOMBAK – Police are seeking the International Criminal Police Organisation’s (Interpol) assistance to aid investigations into the murder of 6-year-old Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin.
According to Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, the authorities have sent over to Interpol evidence acquired by police so far after over two weeks since Zayn Rayyan’s body was found by a riverbank near his residence at Idaman Apartments in Damansara Damai on December 6.
“Police have requested for Interpol’s help (for cross-checks with) their database,” Hussein told a press conference at the Gombak police headquarters today.
“(Interpol’s database) might have some information. Although it might not be conclusive information, it is of some help.”
He reiterated that the murder investigation is not a “straightforward case,” noting that police have recorded statements from 225 individuals and obtained DNA samples from 248 people besides conducting door-to-door checks on units in the apartment complex.
“We have analysed dash cam footage and reviewed CCTV recordings (from the apartment area), but we found minimal evidence to help investigations.
“Police are trying their best, but we have not found the primary crime scene (where Zayn Rayyan was killed).
“As we previously informed, the secondary crime scene is the location where Zayn Rayyan’s body was found.
“It’s difficult to secure physical evidence connecting the culprit (to the crime) from the secondary crime scene.”
Previously, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said Zayn Rayyan is believed to have been killed at a different location before his body was found by the stream the day after he was reported missing.
Shuhaily also said a number of defensive wounds were found on Zayn Rayyan’s body, as well as signs of asphyxiation indicating that his cause of death was not drowning.
Following post-mortem findings, police had reclassified Zayn Rayyan’s death as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code after initially ruling the case as an instance of sudden death.
Police have since said based on evidence collected thus far, authorities believe that only one individual was involved in the child’s murder. – December 23, 2023